JD4010, JD2210, or GC2300

[Anonymous Poster]

I've been reading TBN for the past couple of months and I am impressed by the amount of useful information that is contained here. Like so many others before me I have finally convinced my wife that I need a tractor and she has agreed. Now it seems like the hardest decision is deciding what to buy, so I thought that I would ask for advice on TBN.

I am moving from 2.66 acres to 10 acres with a looooong blacktop driveway. Most of the 10 acres is open, but I will only be finish mowing about 2 or 3 acres. I will probably brush hog the rest a couple of times a year. I will also use the tractor to keep snow off the long driveway (probably with a rear blade).

I intially had decided on the Massey Ferguson GC2300 over the JD2210 because of price. I can get the GC2300 for $9400 with a 60" MMM whereas the 2210 is $11,700 with a 62" MMM. Also, the GC2300 produces more horsepower and torque at a lower RPM than the 2210.

I went to the JD dealer today, and things got more complicated. I saw the 4010 and it really looks like more of a tractor. Also, the dealer quoted me ~$10,700 for the 4010 with the 60" MMM. This is much less than the 2210, and the availability of the 4010 is better. I really liked the two pedal setup for the hydro on the JD over the toe/heel setup on the MF.

Now for the questions.

Since the tractor is going to be mostly used for finish mowing around the house, is the 4010 as manuverable as the subcompacts (2210 and GC2300)?

Will the 4010 produce as nice of a cut as the 2110 or GC2300?

How do you control the deck height on each of these tractors? Is the mowing deck supposed to ride on the wheels on the deck or is it supposed to be suspended? It seems to me that I read here that adjusting the mowing height on the 4010 to the same height each time is difficult.

Will I be limited with the lower horsepower of the 4010? Will the lower horsepower reduce resale?

Which tires - ag, turf, R4?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Welcome! I had the same problem. I finally made my decision last week and bought the 2210. I liked the extra hp of the 2210 over the 4010. I liked the new style 62" mmm over the old style 60" on the 4010. Your price on the 2210 seems high to me. I picked mine up last week. 2210 with 62" mmm, front end loader, and ballast box for $12,900.
I did not look at the GC2300 for lack of a close dealer. The JD dealer is within 6 miles of the house.
As for mowing, the 2210 is a awesome machine. I also have a JD335 with a 48" deck, and I can mow as close to everything with the 2210.
My $.02 worth after 11 hours.

 

[TurboSonic]

Hi,

I have a 4110 which is just a notch up the 4010 and I was extremly impressed with the maneuvrability of this tractor. It is much more maneuvrable than my old Ford LGT145 (Garden Tractor). The 60" MMM is great. It does a superb job and gives a nice even cut. The wheels on the 60" MMM don't normally touch the ground it is mostly suspended. The height ajustment is really easy if you remember the position you set it at the last time. You can also use the little movable stopping "pin" to help you remember the position.

Regarding the 4010, if you have just a little bit more money, go for the 4110. It has a much better hydraulic system and 21 HP engine if you take the hydrostatic model. I had mine for one week and I can't say enough good things about it /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif (Although it does had a few less good things also!)

Sylvain

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Jason,

Here's my take (I own a 4010).

I can only comment on the JD models. My opinion--the 2210 is designed for the homeowner who is going to use the machine mainly for mowing (regular and bush hog) and wants the ability use 3 point attachments. In addition, the tractor can be fitted with a FEL.

The 4010 produces a nice cut (finish mowing), but it has higher 3 point and FEL capacity than the 2210.

The 2210 will put more HP to the rear and mid PTO, but the 4010 will lift more weight in the bucket and be able to handle heavier 3 point attachments.

So--if you are going to use your new tractor on a mixed use basis (as I do), the 4010 is a great machine, but if you are going to mainly mow your lawn and use the other features less, the 2210 may be better for you.

Also--someone mentioned the 4110. When I was looking, it was a fairly sizable financial jump to go from the 4010 to the 4110, but my dealer was unaware of some discounts. Had he given me the right price initially, I would have been within $1000 of the 4110 and would have done that deal in a minute.

Good Luck

Bob

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Jason,

I forgot to answer a couple of your questions.

1. No, I don't think the lower HP will hurt resale--I have no statistical basis for this, but there will always be someone looking for a particular size tractor. People see 18.5hp and equate this with their Sears 20 HP lawn tractor--not a good comparison. I have always run out of traction before HP.

2. The 4010 is pretty nimble when cutting--I can trim around a fairly large oak tree and get very close--the turning radius is pretty impressive relative to the size of the tractor.

3. Tires--again, unless you are doing a lot of loader work or are in a lot of low traction situations, the turfs will work fine. I plow my driveway with the bucket and I have turfs--no chains. The 4wd works great.

Bob

 

[tacbat]

Welcome, I was in the same postion several weeks ago and I now have a 2210 and love it... I don't think you can go wrong with either one, I got the 2210 because it is lower to the ground and I have a pretty good hill one side of my property. I think for mowing (which is what I do most) it would be better, back to the hieght issue around trees. I have FEL, 62MMM, LX4 and paid 13,500.00 and have since gotten a BB and I-Match. I am finish mowing 2 acres and rotary cutting another 4. The 2210 seems small next to big stuff at the dealer it gets bigger when you get home and in the barn. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I agree with Tacbat. It did seem little till I pulled it up next to my JD335 at home.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Well I finally decided on the GC2300. I went to the dealer on Friday and put my money down for the tractor with a MMM and FEL. They said it could take as little as a day or as much as a few days to get the financing approved, and they would deliver it when they received the approval. I waited around Saturday until about 3:30 p.m. and hadn't received a call. When I got home that evening, there were two messages on the machine stating that if I got the message by 5:00 they would deliver the tractor that night. However, it was 7:00 when I got home. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Guess I will have to wait until Monday to take delivery. I was impressed that the would have delivered that tractor that late on a Saturday despite having a 1.5 hour drive one way to get to my house.

My decision was based on availability, price, and financing. No dealers in my area had a 2210 and weren't even sure when they would get one. The GC2300 was $1000 cheaper than the 2210. I paid $11,900 for the tractor, MMM, and FEL. And the financing was much better for the GC2300, 2.5% for 60 months. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif This makes it more affordable.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Sounds like a nice setup... where did you end up getting the rig from? The dealer sounds like a winner.

Thanks,

wickman

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Got it at All Power Equipment in Lancaster. The salesman's name is Bob.